SECTION .0100 ‑ LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS' PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
12 NCAC 09D .0101 LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
(a) Applicants who meet the qualifications set forth in this Rule shall be eligible to receive a Law Enforcement Officer's Professional Certificate. Based on the applicant's qualifications, this Professional Certificate is defined as either an Intermediate or Advanced Certificate. Advanced Certificates shall be approved by Commission vote at regularly scheduled meetings prior to being awarded.
(b) To be eligible for either Intermediate or Advanced Certificates, applicants shall meet the following qualifications:
(1) The applicant shall be a full-time employee of a law enforcement agency within the State and hold general law enforcement certification pursuant to 12 NCAC 09C .0304; or
(2) The applicant shall be a full-time employee of a law enforcement agency within the State, who has previously held general law enforcement officer certification pursuant to 12 NCAC 09C .0304 but is presently, by virtue of direct promotion or transfer from the certified law enforcement position, serving in a position not subject to certification.
(3) The applicant shall be in good standing with their employing agency at the date of application.
(c) An officer subject to suspension or revocation proceedings, probation subsequent to suspension or revocation proceedings, or under investigation for possible decertification action by the Commission pursuant to 12 NCAC 09A .0206, the Company and Campus Police Program pursuant to either 12 NCAC 02I .0214 or 12 NCAC 09J .0211, or the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission pursuant to 12 NCAC 10B .0206, shall not be eligible for professional certificates for the pendency of the proceeding or the period of probation.
(d) Eligibility for either Intermediate or Advanced Certificates shall be based upon a formula which combines formal education, law enforcement training, and service as a law enforcement employee pursuant to Subparagraph (d)(4) of this Rule. Eligibility shall be computed in the following manner:
(1) The applicant's highest educational degree will be given a point value. Graduate degrees will be worth 15 points, Bachelor's degrees will be worth 12 points, and Associate's degrees will be worth 7 points;
(2) Each semester hour of college or university credit earned in pursuit of an educational degree not yet completed by the applicant shall equal one-tenth of a point, and each quarter hour of college or university credit earned shall equal one-fifteenth of a point. The total points earned in this manner shall not equal or exceed the number of points that would be given for the degree upon completion;
(3) Twenty classroom or practical skills assessment hours of Commission-approved law enforcement training shall equal one point. No points shall be awarded for completing Commission-approved courses that are required to obtain or maintain law enforcement certification, including basic law enforcement training and in-service training courses. Additionally, no points will be awarded for the maintenance of specialized law enforcement training;
(4) Each full year of service as a full-time employee of a North Carolina criminal justice agency, or equivalent service as determined by the Commission, shall fulfill a requisite year of creditable service. For the purposes of this Rule, "equivalent service" includes full-time, sworn employment within the State, out-of-state, or with a federal law enforcement agency or the military police.
(e) Applicants for the Intermediate Law Enforcement Certificate shall have acquired a minimum of four years of full-time law enforcement service and a minimum of 30 total education and training points.
(f) Applicants for the Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate shall have acquired a minimum of nine years of full-time law enforcement service and a minimum of 60 total education and training points.
(g) All applicants for either Intermediate or Advanced Certificates shall submit a completed Application for Award of Professional Certificate Form F-6 (LE), pursuant to 12 NCAC 09I .0107, to the employing agency in-service training coordinator or agency head of the applicant's employing agency.
(h) Documentary evidence of college or university graduation shall be submitted with the application pursuant to 12 NCAC 09B .0106.
(i) Documentation of training submitted to the Division shall include training records, signed by the employing agency in-service training coordinator or agency head, that indicate the number of training contact hours.
(j) Replacement certificates may be requested by a completed Request for Replacement of Professional Certificate Form F-7, pursuant to 12 NCAC 09I .0107. An applicant shall have been previously awarded either an Intermediate or Advanced Certificate to be able to receive a replacement.
History Note: Authority G.S. 17C-6;
Eff. January 1, 1981;
Amended Eff. August 1, 2002;
Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. May 25, 2019;
Amended Eff. February 1, 2026.